The Deepest Blues Are Black
by Long-Haired Nick
Summary: Ash has taken a break from battling and traveling for some years, becoming an instructor at a newly-built academy in Pallet town. He finds himself restless for adventure again, and decides to travel with Misty and Brock again, and enter the Pokemon League
1. Chapter 1

**The Deepest Blues Are Black**

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Satoshi Tajiri does. I'm just writing a story.

**Chapter 1**

Charmeleon rushed the Squirtle head on, trying to obey its master's command to scratch.

"Squirtle! Quick, Water Gun!" a boy yelled. The Squirtle obeyed and sprayed a powerful jet of water straight at the Charmeleon, hitting it dead in the face. The Charmeleon was knocked a dozen feet backwards and didn't get up.

"This match is over. Charmeleon is unable to battle. The victory goes to Squirtle and Joe!" Ash announced.

"Dammit! Charmeleon's a second stage Pokémon! So why can't I beat that Squirtle?!"

Ash sighed and motioned for the two combatants to come over to him. He took his hat off and ran a hand through his black hair, then looked straight at the boy – his name was Steve - and sighed again.

"Steve, I've told you this before. You can't rush head on like that. Charmeleon's not fast enough, and it has a type disadvantage against Squirtle. If Charmeleon was battling a Treecko, and the Treecko rushed at it head on, what would you do?" Ash asked.

"I'd...probably use Flamethrower," Steve admitted, dropping his head.

"See? Joe just did what you would have done in his place. So what does that teach you?"

"That I need to think instead of reacting?"

"Exactly. See? You're learning already. And remember, and this goes for everyone, there's only so much you can learn in a place like this. The real lesson is out there." Ash gestured out the window, wondering when _he _was going to go out and get some more real-life lessons.

It had been years since Ash and his many friends had parted ways for the last time, and now he was 23. Longest ago of all was Misty. It had been nearly 10 years since he'd seen her, and although he called her often, it just wasn't the same as actually being with her. Those video screens just didn't do anyone justice. For some reason, Brock always looked a bit odder than everyone else did on the video phone. He thought of the last time he, Brock and Misty had had one of Brock's meals together, and realised he couldn't remember.

"Ash?" Joe asked, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Huh?" Ash snapped back to reality, startling the poor boy.

"I was just gonna ask you if you had any advice for me."

"Oh...well, you were pretty good, I gotta admit. Reminds me of myself when I was your age," Ash put his hands on his hips, tilted his head back and let out a ridiculous laugh. Nobody was impressed.

"But seriously," he continued, "if there's anything I can tell you, it's to use your environment to your advantage. Often, you're gonna find yourself on a field that has rocks, or ice, or something like that. If you're having trouble, just have a quick think about what you can use to help yourself out. For example in my first Pokémon League tournament, right here in Kanto, Pikachu and I were battling a guy with an Arcanine on the ice field. Pikachu was using Agility and the Arcanine couldn't keep up, so he told the Arcanine to use Fire Blast on the whole field. Sure slowed Pikachu down!"

"But you won, right?" Joe asked.

"Oh, sure! I told Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, and with all the water around, that guy never had a chance!"

"Wow, Ash!" Steve exclaimed. "I hope I'm half as good as you some day!"

_Ha! If Misty were here, she'd have said 'That won't be hard'_, Ash thought to himself. He missed Misty's smart-ass comments. As much as he used to hate them, he'd grown to love her making fun of him.

"You're all well on your way to being great Pokémon trainers," he said, smiling to himself at the thought of Misty teasing him. "Keep up the hard work and you'll be just fine. Well people, that's enough for one day. I need a burger, and Pikachu needs ketchup. See you all tomorrow."

Once all the kids had gone, he sat back in a chair and Pikachu jumped up on his shoulder. He rested his chin in his right hand thoughtfully.

"You think it's time to get moving again, buddy?" Ash asked his faithful old friend.

"Pikachu!" he said, nodding happily back at Ash.

"Yeah, I think so too. This is great and all, but I need to get back out there. Maybe compete in another tournament. Anything, as long as I'm not stuck here. It must be all that travelling I've done, but I can't stay in any one place for too long anymore." He paused and looked at Pikachu, who simply placed a reassuring paw on Ash's head, followed by miming a ketchup bottle.

"Pika!" he said, jumping off Ash's shoulder and running for the door out of the practise battlefield.

"OK, OK, let's go get some food, then." Ash laughed, then ran to catch up to Pikachu.

---------------------------------------

For the past few years, Ash had decided to take a break from battling and travelling, and with the help of Professor Oak had started up a sort of school for young Pokémon trainers in Pallet town. It hadn't started off well, Pallet town being as small as it was, but over time it had developed into a rather large and somewhat famous academy. In the beginning, it had a single classroom that Professor Oak and Tracy used to teach in, and an outdoor battlefield that Ash used to hold practise matches and demonstrations. But now it sported 2 more indoor battlefields – a rocky field like Brock's one in Pewter, and a water field like Misty's in Cerulean City – and a building that housed 4 classrooms. In addition, there were 3 more battle teachers and 6 more that primarily taught in the classrooms. Ash was proud of the place, and a lot of great young people had come through its doors and emerged as powerful trainers, all thanks to Ash and the rest of the staff. Ash's reputation had helped a great deal, being a very successful trainer in his own right. But it was mostly due to Professor Oak's broad appeal as one of the greatest authorities on Pokémon in history that the Pallet Pokémon Academy had become as successful as it was. There was no doubt about it, Ash had made quite a lot of money thanks to this place, and didn't have a thing to worry about. Financially, anyway. Being a part owner of the place had its benefits. But being financially secure wasn't everything. He was getting frustrated at all the sitting still. Even Pikachu, who was at times notorious for wanting his rest, was growing agitated. Ash had a lot of powerful Pokémon and a lot of experience. He longed for more adventure.

He got back to his place – a house that he'd bought earlier this year – and organised a burger and some ketchup. He warmed up the burger in the microwave and plonked the ketchup bottle down in front of Pikachu, who greedily began licking at it.

_After all those years of travelling, I thought I'd be able to cook something more interesting than a frozen cheeseburger_. _Where's Brock when you need him? _He thought this to himself as he watched the burger spin around slowly in the microwave.

He turned the TV on and caught the last bits of the news as he bit chunks off the cheeseburger.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, pointing at the screen.

Ash spun away from the plate and faced the TV, almost choking on the burger in the process.

"Pika?" Ash enquired.

"_A 38 year old woman from Pewter City has been hospitalised with what appears to be multiple lacerations and poisoning. A spokesman for Pewter Base Hospital has said the wounds appear to be from a Grass-type Pokémon."_

The newsreader vanished from the screen and was replaced by a man of about 50 wearing a dark-grey suit.

"_It's most unusual to see this kind of injury under these circumstances. The victim was walking through the outskirts of the city in broad daylight, and an eyewitness said he saw a man running from the scene. I'm no Pokémon expert, but I know they don't just attack humans. Not as viciously as this, even IF their trainer tells them to. The poor woman was left for dead by the side of the road, and there appears to be no motive."_

The newsreader reappeared.

"_We'll bring you more on this story as we hear it."_

"Pokémon attacking humans? What's going on?" Ash mumbled to himself.

"Chu..."

Ash resolved to call Brock and see if he knew anything about it. Brock was still running the gym in Pewter City and had a knack for investigating, even if he should have kept his nose in his own business. It never stopped him before, so he might know more than the news crews. Before he had a chance to dial Brock's number, it started ringing. He answered it, and Misty appeared on the screen.

"Hey Ash!"

"Hey Mist, what's up?"

"Oh you know, the usual. Big day at the office. You don't look so good, what's up?"  
"There was this Pokémon attack in Pewter...a grass Pokémon attacked someone," he explained.

"It wasn't Brock, was it?" Misty's face turned white and she just about fell off her chair.

"No, it was a woman. I was about to call him and see if he knew anything."

"Right...deep breaths..." Misty put a hand on her chest and took a few gulps of precious oxygen before continuing. "Well, I guess Brock knows how to take care of himself, after all. And if it was a woman that got attacked, he'd be the first to know. Listen, I've been thinking for some time. I'm getting sick of being at the gym all day. I need to get out and travel again."

Ash started to laugh. Even after all these years, they could still think the same thoughts at the same time.

"What's so funny?" Misty yelled.

"It's just that I was just thinking the exact same thing. I'm tired of teaching. It's fulfilling and everything, but I'm tired of being in the same place all the time. It's been almost 4 years now, and I've only been out of Pallet town twice."

"I know what you mean," Misty said, slumping back in her chair. "I miss travelling with you. And Brock, of course," she quickly added, "...for the food."

"The man knows how to cook, that's for sure."

Misty grumbled and glared at him. He still couldn't pick up on Misty's clumsy hints. She deliberately dropped the most obvious hints sometimes, and he _still_ didn't have a clue. Or so she thought. Ash winked at her.

"Did you just wink at me?" she asked, astonished.

"Me? No, no way! You know me, Mist. I don't know what you're talking about," Ash smiled goofily at her, then continued. "Anyway, since we're both getting bored of our lives, let's go travelling again. We could meet up in Pewter and see if Brock wants to come."

"Yeah! That sounds awesome! Well, it'll only take me 2 days to get there, but it'll take you about 5. And that's if you hurry." Misty's eyes were lit up like floodlights, and she wore a grin the size of a Snorlax.

"Misty, please. I'm part owner of the Pallet Pokémon Academy. I can get transport to Pewter. I can even get YOU transport to Pewter if you want." Ash gave her a smug grin, waiting for the retort.

"I forgot about that...well, since you're so keen to tell me how successful you are, I'll take you up on that offer. I'll see you in Pewter city tomorrow night."

"OK, see you then. I'll have someone waiting to pick you up around 1 o'clock." He still had the smirk on his face.

"What? No argument? Nothing? You've changed, Ash Ketchum." She gave him one of her cutest smiles. Ash blushed, much to her surprise. She was about to say something about it when he interrupted.

"Bye Mist, I'll see you tomorrow night. Don't tell Brock we're planning on travelling again. It'll be more fun if we surprise him. Oh and by the way, you look gorgeous." He winked again.

"Say wha-?"

"Bye!"

He quickly ended the call, probably leaving Misty wondering what the hell had happened. He smiled to himself proudly. He'd never spoken to Misty like that before. He'd never told anyone this, not even Brock, but every week since he'd settled back down in Pallet, he and Misty had talked on the phone. It started off with him just wondering how she was, but over time he'd rekindled the spark of lust he'd always had for her. But it was different now. He was a kid back then, and hadn't really known what to do about it. He never let on that he liked her, and the only indication she had was when she found out she had to return to the Cerulean gym. He'd cried while trying to say goodbye to her and Brock. Not because of Brock, but she didn't know that. It was speculative at best. Now he was an adult, and he understood perfectly what was going on. Moreover, he understood the signs much better than he ever did as a kid, and wondered how the hell he ever missed them before. "_Someday, we'll be married."_ Come on! It doesn't get much more obvious. If she said that now, he'd probably do back flips and dance around the town for a few days.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu drew his attention again, and Ash realised he'd been daydreaming since ending the call with Misty.

"Sorry 'bout that buddy. Well, did you hear all that? Looks like we're going travelling again! Better get some rest, we'll have to leave early if we're going to find transport to Pewter City in time to meet Misty. I don't particularly feel like pissing her off."

"Chu..." Pikachu agreed, often refereeing Ash and Misty's arguments in the past, but quickly looked excited again at the prospect of seeing the world once more.

The two went off to their respective beds, and Ash thought about which Pokémon he should bring with him. It was too early for him to be tired, but he had to try. If he didn't get enough rest, he'd be history tomorrow. He set his alarm clock and stared at the roof while trying to decide who he should bring. He'd go and see Professor Oak in the morning before he left. Maybe he could help him.

He stared at the roof for about half an hour, unable to make up his mind. Frustrated, he gave up and rolled onto his side, thinking about Misty. He always tried to think about her before he went to sleep. His mom once told him that if you think hard enough about something when you're nodding off, there's a good chance you'll dream about it. He didn't really believe it, but he was willing to try it anyway. Dreams about Misty were damn good dreams.

---------------------------------------

One of the biggest changes to Ash's personality was easily his ability to get up early. He didn't always do it, but if he needed to he could. He thought back to his very first day as a trainer, and laughed at how immature he'd been. Not that he was exactly _old_ now, but he was old enough to know better than to sleep in when something important was waiting.

"C'mon, Pikachu. Let's rock!"

"Pika." Pikachu just rolled over and faced the other way.

"Dammit, Pikachu, you haven't changed at all! You wanna see Misty, right?"

"Pi"

"So let's get going! I've got all your stuff packed except for your sleeping bag, which you're currently in. We need to go see Professor Oak first and grab some friends, then it's straight to Pewter!"

"Pi-ka-chu..." Pikachu gave up and got out of his little bed, being dragged by the arm by Ash.

The two set off with their backpack of supplies: toothbrush and paste, 2 spare sets of clothes, 15 pokéballs, some snacks in case of an emergency, spare shoes, and 2 sleeping bags. They made their way down to Professor Oak's place, passing many new houses along the way. Most of them had familiar faces, as Ash often walked this way to the Academy. He said hi to them all, but kept walking. He couldn't be late.

He arrived at Professor Oak's place, but couldn't hear anyone. No one answered the door.

"Hello? Professor? Anyone home?" He called, but still no answer. It was unusual for Professor Oak to leave the door unlocked when he wasn't in. And to his knowledge, Oak didn't have anywhere to be today, so he should have been there.

Ash walked towards one of the research labs, but there was no one there either. He checked out the kitchen, and found his mom's Mr Mime in there.

"Hey Mr Mime, how've you been?"

"Mime, mime!" Mr Mime cried out.

"Where's the professor? And if you're here, then that means-"

"Ash! Where do you think you're going?" Delia Ketchum appeared in the doorway he'd just walked through.

"Hi mom! How did you know I was going somewhere?"

"Please, Ash. I'm your mother. And you're wearing a backpack."

"Oh. Right."

"Ash! Out here!" The Professor called, standing out the back feeding one of Ash's Tauros.

The three of them went outside, and Ash realised why he hadn't been greeted at the door. _A little slow on the uptake, aren't ya bud?_

"So, Ash. What brings you here today? Shouldn't you be preparing your classes?" Oak asked.

"Well, you see Professor, I've decided to go on another journey. It's been way too long and I'm feeling a little restless. I wanna travel through Kanto again, maybe I'll even enter the Pokémon League." Ash explained.

"But who's going to take care of your classes at the academy? You teach 9 classes there a week. You can't just leave, can you?" Delia asked.

"Mom, relax. I've called a couple of graduates, and they're gonna take care of my classes for me. They know all the stuff I taught them, and I've given them my outline for the next year. They'll be fine. And they said they could use the money anyway."

"Well, since that's all taken care of, I don't have a problem with it. We've made the academy quite self-sufficient now, so it should be fine without you. Obviously it would be better if you were there, but if you need to leave for a while, then you need to leave for a while."

"Thanks, Professor!"

"Don't thank me, Ash. It's been your hard work as well as mine that's produced that place. And now, have you given any thought to which Pokémon you're going to bring with you this time? You're not going to do what you did before you went to the Hoenn region and only bring Pikachu, are you?"

Ash thought about this for a second, then replied.

"I don't think that'd be wise. I've done it before, and I know I could do it again, but it's really not going to help me this time. I think I'm gonna need all the power I can get for this journey. And seeing as it's Kanto I'm travelling in, maybe I should use some of my Pokémon from this region."

"That sounds good to me. So I guess it's a good thing I brought this guy back with me after I did some research on him and his friends."

Professor Oak produced a pokéball and pushed the button, aiming it in front of them. A bright flash of white light appeared, and formed into the shape of a large orange Pokémon.

"Charizard! It's so good to see you! How've you been? It's been so long!" Ash was ecstatic. It had been a very long time since he'd seen Charizard, and it'd done a lot of growing. Charizard was at least half a foot taller than he remembered, and it looked like it had tanked up a bit too. But it had lost none of the friendly-but-tough disposition that had taken so much work for Ash to develop.

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu ran up and sat on Charizard's shoulder, and the big orange beast smiled back and let out a little roar of delight. Delia backed up a few paces, putting her hands to her mouth.

"Well, it looks like I made the right choice. I had a feeling you might be heading off again soon. And I also had a feeling that you'd want to take Charizard with you. After seeing it in the Charicific Valley, I think I understood that it was feeling a little pent up in there. It made me realise that you might be feeling the same way. That, and I wanted to do a little more research on it here. But I've finished all that now."

"Thanks Professor, I owe you one."

Ash was delighted to see his old friend again. Charizard was one of his first Pokémon, and seeing how it had grown over the years really brought it home just how important it was that he get moving.

"Um, Professor? Do you think you could help me make a decision on which Pokémon to bring? I kinda have no idea."

"You're the teacher, Ash. But if I had to make a suggestion, I'd say try and cover most, if not all, of your bases as far as type advantages are concerned. And you said you wanted to bring Kanto Pokémon with you, so a good start would be Pikachu, Squirtle and Charizard."

"But Squirtle's with the Squirtle Squad, I can't bring him with me." Ash stated.

"Well, that's not entirely true." Delia said. "An Officer Jenny from some town between Vermillion and Saffron Cities came by the other day with your Squirtle. He's been a great help with my garden. I would have brought him to your place, but I thought you'd be tired from teaching. That's why I'm here, I was going to leave him with Samuel."

"Wow! Thanks mom!" Ash beamed at his mom, then turned to face Squirtle, who had appeared from behind a bush with Bulbasaur.

"Squirtle Squirtle." Squirtle said with style, posing with his sunglasses on.

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur yelled, saluting everyone by using a vine.

All of Ash's oldest Pokémon reintroduced themselves to each other, running around and playing for a little while as Ash, Delia and Oak watched on in amusement.

"Wow, this is like a big reunion! Just wait till you see who you guys are gonna see tonight!" Ash said his old friends.

"Who are you seeing tonight, dear?" Delia asked sceptically, wondering who Ash was hanging around with now.

"Well, it's kind of an old friend. My oldest friend, actually, apart from Gary. She's part of the reason I wanted to go on this trip in the first place."

"_She_, Ash? So who's this mystery 'friend' of yours, hmm? Secret girlfriend you've been seeing this whole time? How come you never introduced her to me? Pikachu, do you know who he's talking about?"

"Pi." Pikachu nodded slyly.

"Can you tell me? Come on, I'm Ash's mom! You can trust me."

"Chu." Pikachu shook his head.

"Mom, please! I can't tell you, 'cause I want it to be a surprise for all these guys. I don't wanna ruin it."

"So it's not a girlfriend, then?"

"Not exactly..." Ash trailed off.

"I know who it is." Professor Oak said matter-of-factly, miming the name 'Misty' to Ash. Ash nodded, then looked at his mom, who somehow learned to lip read in the last 10 seconds.

"Oh! M-" She started, but Ash had already covered her mouth. "Right, sorry dear."

"Keep it down, mom! Bulbasaur's getting suspicious."

"So you're travelling with her again! Oh I always liked her, very polite young lady. This is so exciting, Ash! I always knew you two would get together some day! You make such a great couple!"

"MOM! Please! _Anyway_, can we get to the part where I choose my Pokémon already?" Ash complained.

"Right...this way, then." Oak directed, leading them to the room where all of Ash's pokéballs were kept, and chuckling to himself quietly.

Every time Ash walked into this room, he was more and more surprised at how many pokéballs were actually in there. And he couldn't help but notice that the number that were on the 'Ash' wall were catching up to the number on the 'Gary' wall. They weren't rivals anymore, they'd actually become quite good friends. Gary had even spent some time as a guest teacher at the academy. The kids all loved him. Especially his Umbreon and Blastoise. But he still liked beating Gary.

"So you've decided on Squirtle and Charizard, that leave you with 3 more choices."

"Well I'm gonna need a grass type. Is it OK if I take Bulbasaur?"  
"It's fine with me. I've done all the research I need to on him. But you better ask him yourself."

"Bulba. Saur." Bulbasaur nodded grimly, as always, and agreed to go with Ash.

"Awesome! OK, well I'd like a flying type, but I don't have Pidgeot anymore. And taking Heracross would be great! A bug type is always handy."

"Why don't you take your Staraptor, or Swellow, or even Noctowl?"

"Noctowl! I almost forgot about it! That's great, I'll take those 5 then!"

Professor Oak trundled over to the shelves and picked up the 5 pokéballs.

"Now Ash, I'm going to need the 5 pokéballs you have with you. You know the rules, of course."

"Of course, professor. Here you go." Ash handed him the pokéballs, and the professor gave him the 5 he was holding. He took Ash's current 5 and scanned them in before putting them on the shelves again.

"Right. Oh yes, I almost forgot. I have a new Pokédex for you. It has some new information on attacks and such, a couple of new Pokémon, and a much nicer voice."

"Thanks! Right, how do I scan these in again?" Ash mumbled to himself.

He pushed a red button on the inside of the Pokédex, and it came up with a list on the screen on all the Pokémon he had with him. Only Pikachu's picture came up. He ran each pokéball past the Pokédex, and it beeped an affirmative each time it registered. Slowly, all 6 Pokémon appeared on the Pokédex screen. Ash shut the Pokédex and put it in his pocket.

"You'll only have to do that when you're here. Otherwise we'll do it the old fashioned way." Oak said.

"Cool. Well, I guess this is it, then. I've got a plane to catch if I'm going to meet M-" Ash stopped himself. "My friend in Pewter City by tonight. Later!"

Professor Oak, Delia, Mr Mime and Ash all said their goodbyes, and Ash walked out the door. A taxi was waiting for him out the front.

"You Ash Ketchum?" The driver asked.

"Yeah, that's me. You're right on time."

"Pallet airstrip, right?"

"Yep. Thanks, bud."

Ash hopped in the cab, and within 10 minutes he was at the little airstrip which passed as Pallet town's airport. Nobody had much need for a big airport in Pallet, it wasn't worth the cost of building one when you could just go to Viridian City and catch a plane from there. He paid the driver and walked up to a little private plane sitting on the runway.

"Is this the plane going to Pewter City?" Ash asked. He'd never been on a plane before so he was nervous.

"Sure is. We're departing in 10 minutes. Ash Ketchum, right? You're right on time." The Stewardess said.

"Awesome, thanks!" Ash replied.

"T-t-take a seat. W-w-would you like something to d-drink?" She started stuttering when Ash confirmed his identity.

"Um, yeah sure...a beer would be great. Are you OK? You're going all red, and stuttering."

"I'm f-fine...um...COULD I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?!" the stewardess suddenly screamed and literally shoved a pen and paper in his face.

"Waahhh!!!! Sure! Just don't hurt me!" Ash yelled. He signed the paper for her, reading her name – Rose- off her badge and including it.

"Wow! I've really got Ash Ketchum's autograph! This is the best day of my life!" she danced off down the aisle to get Ash's beer.

_Oh boy. Misty's gonna be mad when I get off the plane. And I have to put up with this for the whole flight? I'm flattered. Really._

Ash suddenly realised that he thought sarcastic thoughts to himself.

"Excuse me, Rose? How long is the flight anyway?" Ash called to the stewardess.

"Oh not long. If it was a jet, we'd be there in an hour. But since it's not, it'll take about 2 and a half." Rose sung happily back at Ash while pouring the drink.

_Oh great. 2 and a half hours of this?_

Ash looked at his Pokédex. The time read 14:04. He was going to be early. Which was fine by him, he'd get to spend some time with Misty before they meet up with Brock at the gym. He took his pokéballs out and fumbled around with them, staring out the window the whole flight. He told Pikachu to warn him if Rose the crazy fan-girl stewardess came back.

Author's note: Well, that's the first chapter of my first fanfic. Hope I didn't draw it out too much. There was a lot of stuff to say before I moved on to meeting up with Misty. I didn't want to exclude anything and risk it being not detailed enough. Anyway, please review this beast, I'd love some feedback before I start writing chapter 2!


	2. Chapter 2

**The Deepest Blues Are Black**

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Satoshi Tajiri does. I'm just writing a story.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who either gave a review of the last chapter, or added this story to their favourites. I was touch-and-go there for a moment as to whether or not I was keen on continuing this, but everyone's been quite cool about it so I'll keep going!

**Chapter 2**

Ash stepped off the plane and onto the runway, with Rose the crazy stewardess right behind him. Misty was on the runway waiting for him. She was dressed in an outfit very similar to the one she used to wear when they first met, complete with a little yellow shirt and ridiculously small shorts, but without the suspenders. Only this time it looked...totally unreal. Ash couldn't keep his eyes off her.

"See something you like?" she asked, a coy smile spread across her face.

"W-...Misty! You look fantastic!" he said, jaw dropped.

"Thankyou." She blushed. "I thought since we're going travelling again in this region, I'd wear something familiar."

"I never noticed it when we were kids." He admitted.

"Well, it's a good thing you noticed it now. I would have been a little upset otherwise. And you don't want that." She smiled.

"Yeah, got that right."

Misty noticed Pikachu as he jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and let out a gleeful squeal.

"Pikachu! It's so good to see you! You haven't aged a day!" She cried, embracing the little yellow Pokémon.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu squealed back.

It was then that Misty noticed Rose the stewardess, who had walked up next to Ash and slipped her arm through his.

"And who might you be?" she said angrily, hands on hips, face red as a tomato.

"I'm Ash's number one fan. Who are you?" Rose replied, getting defensive.

"I'm one of his oldest friends. So keep your filthy, slutty hands off of him!" Misty yelled, grabbing Ash by the other arm and dragging him away.

"Sorry Rose! She didn't mean it, honestly! I'm sure I'll see you again some time! Good luck with the stewardess thing!" Ash yelled back as he was being dragged away with surprising strength.

Misty let go of him after about 100 metres, and turned to face Ash.

"Oh, the nerve! Who does she think she is, grabbing your arm and dangling you in front of me like that?! Unbelievable!"

"Wow, is that jealousy I detect?" Ash smirked.

"No, not at all! I've got nothing to worry about. You said yourself, I look fantastic, right?"

Now Ash blushed. He wasn't ready to say anything risky to her yet, on the off chance that it might make travelling awkward right at the start of their journey. Misty smiled at him and took his arm, and they walked off, leaving the airport behind.

"So Ash, you wanna grab something to eat before we meet up with Brock? From what I heard, he's pretty busy these days with the gym and all. If it's anything like what I was doing, he'll be working pretty hard."

"I suppose, but he does have all his brothers and sisters around to help him. Most of them are trainers now, and good ones at that. Some of them have badges. Speaking of which, I'm gonna need to battle you guys again, huh. I'll need to get all the badges again if I'm gonna compete in the Pokémon League."

"You really are as dense as you used to be. I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet." Misty admonished him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, totally dumbfounded.

"You don't mean to tell me you left home without knowing the rules properly?"

"Well, excuse me for not being a gym leader, Miss Cerulean City." He decided to try getting into an argument, for old times' sake. Misty just laughed at him.

"It's not going to work. I know when you're deliberately trying to rile me up. I was just having some fun. Don't worry, it's not common knowledge. If you've already collected all the badges before, you don't need to do it again. Unless you haven't competed in a League tournament in more than 10 years, in which case you do. So you should be fine. I mean, you can if you want, I suppose." She explained.

"Oh, I see. That makes sense, actually." Ash thought about it for a moment before replying. "If I happen to run into one of the gym leaders, I'll have a battle with them. It'll be interesting to see how much they've changed over the years. But if I don't need to, there's no point slowing down my progress."

"You never answered my question." Misty said bluntly.

"Huh?" He looked at her with that dumb, blank expression he was renowned for. "Oh, right, the food. Yeah, sure let's eat!"

The three of them trundled off to a place they'd been before, just before they met Brock's father years and years ago. Where Misty had left Ash with the bill. They ate there, catching up and enjoying each other's company, and deciding where they'd be heading first. They decided not to decide until they'd met up with Brock. Maybe there was something he wanted to do, or a place he needed to visit.

The three of them ambled slowly to the Pewter City Gym, enjoying Pewter's sunset as they went.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Misty commented. "Let's sit up there and watch it for a while."

"Um, ok." Ash had never been a big fan of that romantic sort of thing. But once they climbed up the small hill Misty referred to, and sat down next to each other, he understood why girls tended to like it so much. Misty relaxed and let out a satisfied sigh, resting her head on Ash's shoulder. He smiled and put his arm around her, not really realising what he was doing. They'd done this sort of thing so many times before, albeit with at least one other person around, but he'd never thought much of it. Maybe it was because he was older now, or maybe it was because they were alone, but he'd never felt so _relaxed_ before in his whole life. Pikachu sat on a rock nearby, seemingly oblivious to the whole scenario.

"I missed you, Ash. I never thought we'd be doing this. It's so romantic, I never knew you had it in you."

"What, the travelling?" Ash said, feigning ignorance. Misty punched him in the arm. "Sorry, Mist." He smirked. "I know what you mean though. I wasn't sure if I was being a bit forward."

"Not at all." She said, pulling him closer. "I've never felt more comfortable than I am right now. All those years when we were kids, you never realised, did you?"

Ash looked down at his shoes, shaking his head. "Not initially. I got a sense of it later, but by then it was too late. You'd already left for the gym. Ever since we started talking on the phone, it started crossing my mind more and more. But I never said anything. I didn't know how you felt."

Misty looked up at him. "You _always_ knew." She smiled sweetly, and placed a hand behind Ash's head. "And I never want you to think twice about it ever again"

With that, she pulled him in closer and kissed him gently on the lips. When they pulled away, Ash's face was bright, bright red.

"I've wanted to do that for 13 years." Misty smiled, visibly relieved. She giggled and took his hand, standing up in the process.

"Come on, let's go see Brock." She said.

"Yeah...yeah YEAH!" Ash cried out. "WOOO!!" He punched the air triumphantly and looked _very_ pleased with himself. Pikachu stood up on the rock he was sitting on, and nodded to himself.

"Pika Pikachu." He stated, as if to say _"About bloody time."_

Ash spun and looked at his first Pokémon.

"You saw all that? I thought you were looking the other way?" Ash said.

Pikachu just smiled and tapped his nose with a furry little finger.

"Don't worry Ash, I'll help you get used to people seeing us together!" Misty said, pulling him in for another kiss. She took his other hand and made this one last longer.

Ash just about fell over, and Misty giggled.

_Wow._ Ash thought.

As epic and romantic as it all was, they still had to go surprise Brock before it got too late. They headed towards the gym, hand in hand, both smiling the whole way.

---------------------------------------

When they got to the gym, they found it shut and locked.

"He must have finished up for the day." Misty said.

"Yeah, let's try his house."

They walked off to Brock's large house and knocked on the door.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Ash called.

"Just a second." They heard Brock call back.

After about a minute, Brock answered the door, looking exhausted.

"Whoa, hey guys! Long time no see! What a surprise!" Brock immediately brightened up at the sight of his two oldest friends.

"What's happening, Brock-o?" Ash asked happily.

"Oh you know, running the gym takes up all my time. I've got Forrest to help me of course, but it's still a lot of work. Especially with those guys around." Brock pointed a thumb at all the kids eating at their humungous dinner table.

"But I only see 6. Where are the other 3?" Misty asked.

"Well, the three oldest ones left on their own journeys, and OH MY GOD!" Brock's eyes lit up like a flashlight and he pointed at Misty, jaw dropped and saliva dripping from his chin.

"You OK there, Brock?" Misty asked, knowing full well the reason why he was acting so weird. Brock cleared his throat and re-composed himself.

"You're looking rather lovely, Misty. I see you've changed quite a bit since I last saw you." He said, trying to be very dignified.

"Don't you usually go all gaga and announce your love right about now?" Ash enquired.

"Usually, but I've learned the hard way not to do that with a girl who has a ring, or who's hand is being held by another man. Speaking of which, you guys ARE aware that you're holding hands, right?"

"Yep." Ash replied nonchalantly.

"Of course." Misty said, tilting her head slightly and looking confused.

"Right. Well it's just a bit weird seeing you guys holding hands when I'm used to you tearing each other's hair out."

"Let's just say that we're...more comfortable with each other now." Misty smiled and blushed, looking at Ash as she spoke.

"I can see that." Brock said, stroking his chin thoughtfully, more than a little disappointed. "Well, congratulations, guys. I gotta say I saw this coming – about 10 years ago. How come it took you so long to work it out? Actually, don't answer that. Come in, we're just about to start eating."

He motioned them to come in and sit down, where Brock quickly placed plates down in front of his guests.

"We're having roast, so eat up!" Forrest said from across the table.

Misty and Ash sat next to each other, not eating much, as they'd just eaten not long before.

"So what brings you two out here on a whim?" Brock asked.

"Well, long story short, we were both getting a little tired of our lives, and decided to go travelling again. It wouldn't be the same without you, so we thought we'd come see you and ask if you wanted to come along." Ash explained.

"Hmm, well that does sound pretty good. It's been a long time since I went anywhere, and even longer since we went travelling around. Where are you thinking of going?"  
"Well, Ash wants to enter the Kanto League again, and I'm just along for the ride. I wanna go on a cruise when we get to Vermillion, but other than that I don't have anywhere special I'd like to go." Misty said.

"Hmm...well I'd love to go to the Rock Tunnel, or Mt Moon or somewhere I can catch another Rock Pokémon. But it's so busy here, I don't know if I can just leave." Brock said, looking disappointed.

"Don't worry, bro. We can handle it here. I don't wanna keep you stuck here if you've got the opportunity to travel again," Forrest told him. "with such a beautiful girl." He winked at Misty.

"Wow, Brock. He's just like you." Misty said, rolling her eyes and looking a little disturbed.

"Yeah I know...I feel sorry for you guys, now I know what its like." Brock dropped his gaze and looked ashamed. "I can't help it though, and neither can he." He turned his attention to his oldest younger brother. "Well, if you think you can handle it, then I guess I should trust you." He turned back to Misty and Ash. "Alright, I'll go. But you have to agree to stay here tonight. Unfortunately, I only have one spare bed. But I'm guessing that probably won't be a problem." He smirked at Ash and Misty, who looked at each other and smiled.

The whole bunch of them chatted away for a while as they ate, catching up on old times and remembering all the funny things that had happened to them over the years. Brock and Ash told Misty about all the adventures they'd had while she'd been back in Cerulean City running the gym. She seemed to get a bit huffy when they told her about Dawn, but she seemed pleased when they told her that May was doing quite well on the Coordinator circuit.

After washing up the dishes and clearing the table, they sat down and spoke more about their coming journey, and Ash remembered about the news report he'd heard the other night. He wondered where Pikachu was, and noticed he was playing with Brock's sisters, and so didn't give it any more thought.

"Brock, I've been meaning to ask you something. Pikachu and I saw this report on the news last night, about a woman being attacked by a Pokémon. We were wondering if you knew anything about it." Ash asked.

"Yeah, I heard this screaming as I was coming back from getting some lunch yesterday, and I ran to check it out."  
"But the gym's in the middle of town. The report said it happened on the outskirts" Misty stated, confused.

"That's true, but there's this great pastry shop out north."

_Must be some damn good pies if _Brock_ drives all the way out there to get one._ Ash thought.

"Anyway, yeah I saw the woman running from this Weepinbell. But it looked wrong, somehow. Like it was evil. I've never seen anything like it. Not since the days of Cipher and the Shadow Pokémon. This big guy in a big trench coat was ordering the Weepinbell to use razor leaf and vine whip on her, and she was screaming pretty loud and getting pretty banged up. I was about to send out Forretress to help her when the Police arrived. The guy just ran off."

"So how come they didn't say anything about that on the news reports?" Ash asked.

"It's 'cause they're covering it up!" Forrest yelled. "Any bet, they're covering it up. Maybe the news stations have it in with some corporation using Shadow Pokémon!"

"Come on, Forrest. That's ridiculous. Who'd use Shadow Pokémon now?" Brock said.

Ash wasn't entirely convinced, though. It sounded plausible. As ridiculous as Forrest made it sound with his youthful enthusiasm, Ash felt like there was definitely something wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it _felt_ wrong.

After more chatting away and waiting for the kids to all go to sleep, the three decided to call it a night and get some decent rest. Tomorrow was the day they started another journey, and they were all older now and found it _much_ harder to get up early. Especially Brock. He was 28 now, and by the looks of him, hadn't woken up before 10am since they'd last seen him.

Misty and Ash settled onto the little mattress Brock had arranged for them, and they gazed at each other from beneath the sheets.

"It's cosy, that's for sure." Ash commented.

"Mmm." Misty said, smiling, reaching for his hand. "I still can't believe this is happening."

"Neither." There were so many things about Misty that he'd never realised before. So much beneath the surface that she tried not to show anyone. He just kept looking into her beautiful blue-green eyes, happy not to say anything, just keep staring into them.

"What is it?" Misty asked softly.

"Nothing." Ash smiled back. "It's just, I never realised how beautiful your eyes are."

"You've never been this close to them before." She smirked. Ash was about to say something when Misty put a finger to his lips. "Shh." She kissed him, and then rolled over, taking Ash's hand with her. They fell asleep in a kind of embrace, the kind that both of them had only ever dreamed about in the past.

---------------------------------------

Ash woke to the sound of Brock hammering away in the kitchen, preparing what smelt like ridiculously good pancakes. He didn't quite understand how you could make pancakes 'ridiculously good', but that's how it smelt.

"Ooo!" A couple of Brock's sisters started teasing. "Ash and Misty sitting in a tree."

"That's enough, you two. Get over here and give me a hand, will ya?" Brock commanded.

The two youngsters went to give Brock some help with his preparations. Ash looked at his Pokédex, and the time read 08:15. He rolled over and put the Pokédex under his pillow.

"Come on, you two. Time to get up and get moving! Time's wasting." Brock called.

"Give me a break, Brock. As if you still get up this early." Misty whined.

"Sure do. Who's gonna take care of this lot if I don't?"

Misty frowned, but gave in to the sweet smell of maple syrup. She ambled away to the table and plopped herself down on a chair. Her hair was a bit of a mess, but she still looked cute. Ash just smiled from his place on the mattress.

"Come on, loverboy. Time to eat." Misty said, smiling back at him.

Ash, too, gave in, and made his sleepy way to the table to join the others. They ate their pancakes and helped Brock to clean up, and each had showers before helping him organise his gear for the journey.

"Sorry to put you guys up to all this packing, it was kinda short notice." Brock apologised.

"It's no big deal, the sooner you're packed, the sooner we can get on our way." Ash replied.

"Thanks Ash, Misty." He said, acknowledging them both. "Oh Ash, could you pass me that pot over there? And don't forget the lid. I get the feeling I might need that."

Ash passed him the pot, and the lid, while Brock collected the last of his reading material (all books on Pokémon breeding) and his Pokémon.

"Now, Forrest. I'm gonna take Forretress, Marshtomp, Ludicolo and Crobat with me. None of them are rock types anyway, so you won't be needing them. That still leaves you with Geodude and Steelix, among others. So you should be fine. You might want to go and catch some more at some stage though, give yourself a little more to work with." Brock advised his little brother.

"Sure, thanks Brock. Don't worry about a thing, I can take care of it all." Forrest replied.

"I'm sure you can. Take care."

He shook hands with his little brother, and after some lengthy goodbyes they all set off towards Mt Moon, the gang's first stop on the way.

They got about 5 kilometres down the road out of Pewter City when Pikachu noticed something. His ears pricked up and he let out a startled cry.

"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Ash queried.

"Pika!" Pikachu said quickly, electricity sparking from his cheeks.

"I think I heard something too, Ash. Get ready." Misty said, expression serious.

Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and stood fiercely in the middle of the road, staring into the long grass. He was a picture of toughness, even in his little Pikachu frame. Battle had hardened Pikachu into a brilliant battling machine over the years, and none of those years had slowed him down even slightly. Pokémon were known to live very long lives sometimes, and Pikachu was still considered a bit of a youngster. He concentrated as much as he could, trying to detect anything hiding in the grass. Just as Brock was about to give up and walk off, Pikachu blasted into action, letting out a massive thunderbolt almost as fast as the eye could see.

"Weeeeeep!" came the cry as a 2 foot shadow came leaping out of the grass, it's body totally electrified and paralysed. Pikachu didn't relax, he kept his stance up, ready to run at a moment's notice.

"Whoa! It's that same Weepinbell! I don't believe it!" Brock cried out in surprise.

"What? You're sure it's the same one?" Misty asked.

"Damn sure. Look at its eyes. Even paralysed and totally unable to move, much less battle, it still looks like it wants to kill all of us." Brock's face was dead serious, and his body language suggested extreme caution. He was scared.

"There's something wrong with it. Look how on edge Pikachu is. I've never seen him look this highly strung." Ash said, full of worry. "I've never seen a Pokémon look like that before. It looks just like a regular Weepinbell, only not. I can't explain it."

Just as Ash was finishing his sentence, the Weepinbell broke free of the paralysis just long enough to launch a small razor leaf attack directly at Misty.

"Misty!" Ash cried and launched himself into the path of the leaves. He cried out in pain as the leaves whipped through the air, piercing his shirt and sticking into his chest.

"No, Ash! Oh my god, are you ok?" Misty cried out, sitting Ash down on the path and examining his wounds.

"I'm fine, Mist. There's no time to waste, help me get these out." He began ripping the leaves out, each time with a grunt of pain, with Misty helping. There were 6 leaves stuck in his body, but it felt like 60. Each time on came out, a fresh spray of blood accompanied it.

"That wasn't very nice. Now you're gonna pay." Ash said to the Weepinbell, a ferocious look on his face.

"Ash, make sure you hit it hard enough to knock it out completely, this is one hell of a tough Weepinbell and it means business. Something that can survive a point blank thunderbolt from Pikachu isn't something that's just playing around."

Ash nodded, noting that the Weepinbell was glaring back at him, almost as if it was daring him to attack. And Ash wasn't the type to leave anyone or anything disappointed.

"I don't know what your problem is, but we're gonna solve it right now. Pikachu, Thunder attack!"

"Pika...CHU!!!" Pikachu let loose an enormous stream of electricity that shot almost straight up into the air before descending down straight into the Weepinbell, knocking it back some 50 metres down the road. Pikachu raced after it, shocking it again upon reaching it. Ash and the others ran to catch up, Misty the first to get there. She inspected the Weepinbell, nodding as she noted that there was no way it was getting up before being treated at a Pokémon centre. Pikachu had hit it pretty hard, not hard enough to kill it, but there wasn't any point taking a risk. Pikachu's thunderbolt had basically reached legend status, and anything that could survive a surprise attack was definitely not something to be taken lightly.

"I've never seen Pikachu act so brutally before." Misty said, almost as if she pitied the Weepinbell.

"Don't forget, Mist. This Weepinbell attacked you, without provocation or warning. No Pokémon does that. This isn't an ordinary Pokémon, it may as well be a criminal." Brock said sternly.

"Yeah, I don't like this, something...crazy's going on. Pokémon don't...just become like this, someone or...some _thing_ made that...Weepinbell go crazy." Ash said, holding his chest and dripping blood on the ground in front of him. He was doubled over, leaning on his left knee, trying desperately to compose himself. But the pain was great – the razor leaves had sunk quite a way into his flesh – and he was struggling.

"Ash, hold on, I'll call for help." Misty said, panicking and unsure of what to say or do, tears streaming down her face.

"Hold...that thought...Mist. I hear...sirens." Ash said with a pained smile.

"Oh, I hear it too!" Misty said, looking for the source of the most welcome sound she'd ever heard.

Brock tore Ash's shirt off, ripping it into strips and pressing them into Ash's wounds. Ash cried out in pain as he did this, but at least the bleeding was somewhat being controlled.

"Just hold those where they are. I think that's Officer Jenny, I'll get her to call an ambulance." Brock told him.

"Maybe I better do that, Brock." Misty said, fearing in the back of her mind that his lust for beautiful women might overtake his duty to his friend.

"No way. I know this Jenny pretty well. She'll get Ash the help he needs in no time."

"OK, just make sure she hurries, Brock." Misty said softly, fresh tears falling down her cheeks.

Misty broke down and collapsed next to Ash, crying uncontrollably while attempting to help Ash hold the torn up bits of shirt in place.

"It's...OK Misty. I'm...gonna be...just fine." Ash said with laboured breaths.

"It's so unfair! Why you? And why now?! We just got together and-"

"Don't worry! I'm not...gonna die...or anything like...that. Just...stop crying...please. I hate...seeing you...upset." He smiled at her, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"And I hate seeing you hurt. Ash, I l-" Misty got cut off.

"Oh my gosh, what went on here?" Officer Jenny unwittingly interrupted. "Oh god, he's hurt. Hang on, I'll call an ambulance!"

Jenny raced off to her motorbike and quickly called an ambulance and a Police van. Then she raced back over to Ash, Misty and Brock.

"Just you hang on, young man. It won't be long now, I've made some calls and everyone's on their way, and...wait a sec, you're Ash Ketchum, right?" Jenny asked, totally surprised.

"Yes...ma'am. That's...me." Ash said with his best goofy smile, given the circumstances.

"I remember you from...wow it was over a decade now. When you first passed through this town. I cheered for you when you were entered in the Pokémon League." She paused and studied him, realising that this probably wasn't the best time for small talk. "Don't you worry about a thing. I can hear the ambulance now. Brock and..." She gestured at Misty, not knowing her name. Misty was too upset to even look at anyone but Ash.

"Misty." Brock said.

"Brock and Misty can fill me in on the details. You just have a rest, and we'll take care of everything."

"Actually, officer, I'm going to the hospital with Ash. You understand." Misty said, eyes pleading to Jenny.

"Um," She pitied the poor girl. She didn't know what their relationship was, but she obviously cared a lot about him and didn't want to be separated. "Sure. That'll be fine. Brock and I can go over the details while Ash recovers."

"Thanks, officer." Misty said, still teary. She turned to Pikachu. "You go with Brock, ok? We'll call if anything happens."

"Chu..." Pikachu said solemnly, nodding to Misty and grabbing Ash's thumb in a kind of Pikachu handshake, before jumping up on Brock's shoulder.

Just then the ambulance rolled up, the Police van in tow. The paramedics quickly stretchered Ash into the back of the ambulance, and Misty jumped in with them.

"So what's the deal, Brock? What's the story with this Weepinbell?" Officer Jenny asked.

Brock explained what had happened, noting that he thought the Weepinbell to be the same one that was involved in the attack two days before.

"Hmm. It does look sort of...angry. Even unconscious. We'll have to do some research, run some tests, that sort of thing. If you wanna come down to the station, we could use your help. With the statements as well as the tests. We won't ask Misty and Ash to give statements, they've been through enough by the looks of it." Jenny said.

"Yeah, they've been friends a long time. Misty's the Cerulean Gym leader, in case you're wondering why she looks so familiar." Brock told her.

"Oh, that's where I've seen her before! She used to travel with you both as well, right? So is she Ash's girlfriend now? That would explain why she was so devastated."

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. Misty always had a thing for Ash, and I think Ash had a thing for her as well. But that was years ago. I didn't even know they still spoke to each other, and then they rocked up at my place yesterday holding hands."

"Well, you can fill me in on the chit chat later. Right now we need to load this Weepinbell into the van and get back to the station."

2 more officers (neither of them a Jenny) loaded the Weepinbell on board the van and secured it in place, before taking off back down the road with Brock, Pikachu and Jenny in tow on the motorbike.

Author's Note: Well, there you have it. Some romance, and some action. If there's one thing that always pissed me off slightly about Pokémon, it's how unnecessarily "kiddy" they make it. So one of my main aims with this fanfic is to bring it a bit more into the adult world. We'll see how "adult" I end up making it . Hope you're all enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. I'm a huge Misty fan, if you haven't already noticed. Anyway there's at least one big plot bender up ahead, which I'll reveal in chapter 3.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Deepest Blues Are Black**

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Satoshi Tajiri does. I'm just writing a story.

**Chapter 3**

Misty had been waiting for what seemed like forever. She looked at the clock on the wall: 12:03. She's only been here for a little over an hour. She sighed and sat back down on the padded bench outside the triage office in the emergency department. She'd been pacing up and down the entrance to the hospital the whole time, waiting on some word about Ash. She looked out the window and onto the road, a single tear rolling down each cheek. It was hard to divert her attention away from her miserable thoughts, and looking at the road was a lame attempt at best.

"Hey, Mist!" came a familiar voice. Misty spun her head around so fast she just about lost it. Ash was standing right behind her, looking like he'd never even had a scratch.

"Ash!" Misty cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him an almighty squeeze.

"Take it easy! I just came out of hospital, remember!" Ash said.

"Oh right, sorry." Misty blushed a little in embarrassment. She gave him a big kiss on the cheek and took his hand.

"Well," a doctor began. "Ash should be just fine. The cuts were deep, but they weren't infected or anything like that. We've stitched up the two deeper ones, but the rest will heal naturally. You should be good as new in a few weeks. Just get yourself into a clinic in 3 weeks time to get the stitches removed."

"Thanks, doctor." Misty said, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"No problem. You two have fun on your journey, and make sure Ash doesn't do anything too crazy until after he's healed up. And make sure he changes the dressing daily." The doctor finished up, gave them a smile and turned around and walked back into the emergency department.

Ash took Misty's other hand, and looked into her blue-green eyes.

"Thanks for waiting for me." He said.

"I wouldn't rather be anywhere else."

They just stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, before Ash broke the silence.

"We should get to the police station and see what Brock's up to."

When they arrived at the police station, Brock was waiting out the front for them with Pikachu, munching on a sandwich.

"Hey guys." He said. "So how'd it all turn out?"

"Should be back to normal in 3 weeks, they said." Ash replied happily.

"Really? 3 weeks? That's pretty cool. I guess you're tougher than you look after all." Brock said with a sarcastic smirk.

"Right." Ash smiled back at him. "So what's the story with that Weepinbell?"

Brock frowned at the mentioning of Weepinbell, going deadly serious all of a sudden. "You better come inside. Officer Jenny wants to tell you herself."

Ash and Misty looked at each other, a little confused, then followed Brock into the station.

Officer Jenny spotted them walking in, and hailed them straight away.

"Ash! How did it all turn out?" She asked him.

"Pretty well. Nothing major, and I should be fine in 3 weeks." He said, already getting a bit tired of repeating himself.

"That's good to hear. Unfortunately, you're not going to like what I have to tell you, though." She said, police seriousness spread all over her. "Come with me."

Jenny led them into one of the interrogation rooms, which was decked out with a sort of operating table and some gas bottles connected to a face mask. A woman in a lab coat was standing next to the table, patiently waiting, and the Weepinbell was out cold on top of it.

"As you can see, we've had to run the tests in here. We're not really equipped for researching this kind of thing, so this is really just thrown together." She said apologetically. Brock stood off to the side, arms folded; clearly, Officer Jenny had already told him the news she was about to break to Ash and Misty.

The woman turned around to face the group, revealing her to be Nurse Joy.

"After examining this Weepinbell's brain patterns, we've discovered that it is indeed a kind of Shadow Pokémon." She stated.

"Shadow Pokémon?" Ash and Misty queried simultaneously.

"A _kind_ of shadow Pokémon. This is different to what everyone's used to, in that it's still capable of using all its old attacks, and of learning new ones. The only thing that's changed is its personality. Appearance-wise, it's exactly like any other Weepinbell." She continued. Ash and Misty looked at each other, then at Brock, who just nodded his head in the direction of Nurse Joy, urging them to keep listening.

"Lately, we've found another Pokémon roaming around Cerulean City. It appeared to be wild, but it seemed a little odd so the Nurse Joy from Cerulean examined it and found exactly what we found here. This indicates that these new Shadow Pokémon are probably being massed-converted somewhere nearby."

"Mass-converted? That sounds bad." Ash said, stating the obvious.

"Yes, it certainly does." Officer Jenny said. "Which is where I come into this. As a police force, we can't fight all the shadow Pokémon in the world, if there is indeed mass-conversion happening. There would be too many fronts to fight on, and we'd never be able to find where they're striking from. If we knew that, we could gather our forces and attack as one. But we just don't have the resources to be able to find that sort of information out, while still preventing any serious repercussions from the Shadow Pokémon being used everywhere else. So we'd-"

"Like us to act as spies and try to find out where they're striking from?" Ash finished.

Officer Jenny moved her head back slightly in surprise. "Yes." She said.

"What happens if they find out it's me? I'm not exactly the most inconspicuous trainer going around." Ash asked.

"Well, Brock and I came to the agreement that _because_ of who you are, people would be less likely to think you're a spy. It's a perfect cover. If anyone gets suspicious, you're just a highly skilled Pokémon trainer doing his civil duty to protect someone in trouble. There's nothing wrong with that."

"And because of his skill, he's not likely to be defeated or run into any trouble he can't get out of. He's got a wider variety of strong Pokémon than the police do." Misty surmised.

"That's right." Jenny said.

Ash thought for a moment, then looked to Misty.  
"What do you think, Mist?" he asked her, needing some moral guidance.

"Well, it's your journey, so ultimately the decision is yours. But if I had to decide, I'd do it. If we can do something to help prevent whoever's doing this from turning Pokémon into monsters, I think we should. We owe it to all the people and Pokémon who've helped us over the years." She said, feeling proud and determined.

"Well if you think we should, then we'll do it." Ash said to Misty, then turned to Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy. "You've got yourself 3 spies." Ash said proudly.

"Great! I don't know how to thank you, Ash. You're doing this region a great service by agreeing to this." Jenny cried happily. "And you'll still be able to continue your journey as well. The only ones who'll even know we're collaborating will be all the Officer Jennies and Nurse Joys."

"And me." Came a voice from the door.

The group looked around at the source of the voice, and found themselves totally stunned.

"Gary!" Ash cried in amazement.

"In the flesh." Gary replied, putting on his best cocky attitude, a broad smile spread across his face. He stepped towards Ash and shook his hand firmly. "How ya been, Ashy boy? I missed you the other day at Gramps' place."

"Yeah, I was wondering where you were. How come you're all the way out here?" Ash asked, puzzled.

"Actually, I asked him to come." Nurse Joy said. "He has a pretty vast knowledge of Pokémon, and being the Grandson of Professor Samuel Oak, he's got a lot of resources too. I thought he'd be a great asset to our team."

"I can't come with you, Ash, but I'll be in touch. I'll be based at Gramps' place back in Pallet, but you can call me with information or whatever you want, and I'll help you out from a distance. I'm more useful this way."

"Gary will be doing research and following our progress during the investigation. He'll be monitoring any data we collect on the Shadow Pokémon and analysing it in the hopes of finding out weaknesses, or strategies that could help you and ourselves out when we're forced to battle." Officer Jenny said.

"Great! That's really gonna be a big help. Thanks, Gary." Misty said.

"No sweat, babe." Gary replied with a cheeky grin.

Misty grumbled a little, but knew better than to think he was being serious.

"So we just continue on like we were going to in the first place?" Ash asked.

"That's right. But you'll be taking one of these each." Jenny handed them each a PDA-looking device. "This device has direct phone numbers pre-programmed to anyone involved in this investigation. So all the Officer Jennies and Nurse Joys in Kanto will have their numbers listed. It's more subtle this way; using a public or cell phone would be too conspicuous, and can be tapped. This way, it's always a secure line, and you won't have to worry about a thing. Also, it can record videos or pictures, or even convert your voice into text. All of it can be sent to any of the numbers listed, which will come in handy in our investigation."

"Neat!" Brock said, impressed.

"So, does anyone have any questions?" Jenny asked to no one in particular. When she received silence in response, she continued. "You three can stay at the Pokémon Centre tonight if you wish."

Misty looked at Ash, shaking her head subtly.

"I think we'd prefer to get moving, but thanks for the offer." Ash said.

"Are you going to be ok? Your injuries aren't going to hold you back, are they? Maybe you should rest up a bit before we head out." Brock said.

"I'm fine, Brock. As long as I don't do anything ridiculous, I'll be just great. Plus, we're half a day late as it is. And I wanna start finding some of those Shadow Pokémon." Ash's face changed to a reckless grin, and suddenly he seemed 10 years old again.

"You'll never change." Misty sighed.

They group said their goodbyes and walked off. Brock fiddled with his new PDA as he walked, Misty and Ash held hands and walked side by side, taking comfort in finally being able to get going. As interesting as all the discussions and hospital visits were, it was still good to get moving.

"There's a new hotel outside this side of Mt Moon. We can stay there tonight, if we move fast enough. It should only take us a few hours to reach it." Brock said.  
"That sounds good, I can't wait to get something to eat and relax a bit." Ash said, stretching his arms.

"Yeah, it's been a long day. I can't wait for some quiet time." Misty smiled, snaking her arm around Ash's waist.

"Spare me..." Brock mumbled.

----------------------------------------------------

They'd walked for about an hour when they spotted someone on the horizon walking towards them. As they got closer, Brock noticed that it was a very pretty girl of about twenty years, dressed in a short, pale green plunging neck top and tight light-blue jeans.

"WOW! I have to talk to her!" He started sprinting, leaving Ash and Misty shaking their heads behind him. They jogged to catch up, but by then it was too late.

"Hi, I'm Brock. Soon-to-be-world-famous Pokémon Breeder. And what lovely name should I call you to match your lovely face?" Brock said, taking the girl's hand.

"I'm Sarah. And _you_ need to be less forward." She said, pulling her hand away.

Ash and Misty stepped up beside Brock, who was looking a little forlorn.

"Sorry about Brock, he's a bit of a Casanova." Misty apologised.

"It's ok." Sarah said with a smile. "I'm Sarah, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Misty, and this is my boyfriend Ash." Misty introduced.

"Boyfriend?" Brock whispered to Ash. Misty reached around behind Ash's head and gave Brock a firm _whack_.

"Ow! Dammit!" he cried, rubbing his head.

"So what brings you out here, Sarah?" Ash asked politely.

"Well, I just stayed in that new hotel outside Mt Moon, and now I'm heading back home to Viridian." She explained. "Can I ask if you're Ash Ketchum? The same Ash Ketchum who finished in the top eight of the Indigo League twelve years ago? The same Ash Ketchum who runs the battling classes in the Pallet Pokémon Academy?" Sarah's face suddenly changed from a look of polite interest to a look of excited hopefulness.

"Yeah, that's me. What can I do for you?" Ash replied, feeling a little overwhelmed by Sarah's eagerness.

"You can battle me!" Sarah exclaimed, panting heavily and somehow producing a pokéball from nowhere.

"A battle? You're on!" Ash quickly got excited when he realised this wasn't just an ordinary fan-girl who wanted an autograph or a photo.

Sarah threw the pokéball, and it produced a brilliant red light, which formed into Slowbro.

"Slowbro, huh." Ash look at Pikachu, who was sitting on Misty's shoulder. "You're up, buddy."

"Pi-KA-chu!" Pikachu dived off of Misty and landed silently on the path. It'd been a while since Pikachu had been in a real battle against a real trainer.

"So how should we do this?" Ash asked.

"3 on 3 sounds fine from where I'm standing." Sarah answered.

Brock moved into place on the side of the path, resuming his long-standing post as officiator for Ash's, Misty's, May's, and later Dawn's battles.

"Let this 3 on 3 battle begin!" He yelled, feeling a little excited himself. It'd been a long time since he'd seen Ash battle, and he wondered how much better he'd gotten over time.

"Slowbro, water gun! Now!" Sarah commanded. The Slowbro leaned back on its hind legs, preparing to let loose.

"Pikachu, quick attack!" Pikachu bolted towards the Slowbro at a tremendous speed, dropping his shoulder at the last moment and hitting the Slowbro full force in the belly. The Slowbro was still preparing its water gun attack, and promptly had the wind knocked out of it. Slowbro didn't register the blow, but the force of Pikachu's attack made Slowbro spit all the water out everywhere.

"Nice work, buddy. Now thunderbolt 'em!" Ash yelled.

Pikachu took a step backwards, away from the Slowbro, realising it had a little time before Slowbro would even react to the last attack. So he took his time and gathered electricity.

"Pika...CHUUU!!!"

Pikachu let a huge bolt of electricity loose from his cheeks, and it struck the Slowbro right in the middle of the face. The force of it blew the Slowbro back twenty metres, narrowly missing Sarah in the process. When it landed, its eyes were still open, but it was history. A few seconds later, it started yelling and waving it's arms around, finally registering the attack.

"Slowbro is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" Brock yelled.

"Slowbro, return." Sarah said, looking dejected. She pulled two more pokéballs out from her belt, and looked at them both before putting one back and throwing the other out. A Sandshrew popped out, and the ball returned to Sarah's hand.

"Try zapping this one, Ash!" She said. "Sandshrew, dig!"

"Dig? Please...don't waste my time. Pikachu, follow it in there and give it a thunderbolt!" Ash said confidently.

Pikachu charged down the hole that Sandshrew had just made, and a flash of intense light followed him. Moments later, the Sandshrew came blasting out of the ground a dozen feet from where it had entered, followed by a smug-looking Pikachu. The Sandshrew just lay on the ground, steam rising from its chest.

"Sandshrew is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" Brock yelled out.

Misty looked on at the battle, marvelling at how powerful Pikachu had become. Not only did his thunderbolt actually hurt the Sandshrew, it blasted it out of the ground and knocked it out in one hit! He had certainly become a very impressive trainer. This Sarah didn't exactly seem like a pushover either, but Ash was making it look easy. _Very_ easy.

Sarah looked like she was about to cry. She reached around her back and pulled out one last pokéball. She returned Sandshrew, and threw out the next ball into the battlefield and it opened, letting out a Victreebel. The pokéball flew back into her hand.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt again!" Ash said, his grin broadening.

Pikachu let out a little yell, and zapped the Victreebel. Again, it flew about twenty metres back and landed hard, not moving.

"Oh, Victreebel, are you alright?!" Sarah yelled, running after it, and checking to see if it was OK. The Victreebel was totally knocked out, but otherwise fine.

"Victreebel is unable to battle. The victory goes to Ash!" Brock announced, Misty and Ash and Pikachu dancing around in a little circle. Ash started to say thankyou to Sarah for a great battle, and noticed she was crying, holding her Victreebel.

"Sorry, Sarah. Pikachu doesn't use any more force than he needs to, so your Pokémon should be fine. If it helps, I'll give them all a spray of super potion." He reached into his backpack and took out the little spray bottle. Sarah let out her fainted Pokémon, and Ash sprayed them all lightly. They all stood up and shook themselves off, still weak and dazed from having the crap beat out of them by a little Pikachu.

"Thanks Ash." Sarah said, wiping the tears from her face. "You're the only trainer I've ever battled who actually took the time to heal his opponent's Pokémon afterwards. That's so sweet!" She said, literally jumping on Ash, not realising he'd been wounded, and wrapping herself around him. She gave him a big kiss on the forehead before getting off him. Misty quietly seethed in the background, her face growing redder than her hair.

"Wow! Strong _AND_ sweet!" She said, totally enamoured.

Misty cleared her throat loudly, hands on hips and fuming.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Misty! I totally forgot he's your boyfriend." Sarah apologised and took several steps back, looking at her shoes and going a bright shade of embarrassed red. Brock sniggered.

"Look who's forward now?" he teased. Sarah continued to look at her shoes, feeling more stupid by the minute. Misty had introduced Ash as _her boyfriend_. And she'd wrapped her entire body around him like a true slut. What a fool. She turned to leave.

"I should go. I'm really sorry." She said, not looking up.

"Wait, Sarah! It's ok." Misty said, putting her hand on Sarah's shoulder and giving it a friendly squeeze. "You apologised, it's fine. But something else is bothering you, isn't it. You were more upset than I've seen most trainers after a loss." Misty looked genuinely concerned, and Ash couldn't figure the percentage in Misty wanting to help someone who'd just jumped on her boyfriend. She used to get jealous even _before_ they both knew they liked each other. Melody came to mind, and Ash inwardly giggled at his lack of foresight.

Sarah looked up at Misty slowly, still embarrassed. Misty smiled sweetly at her.  
"You can tell me. Maybe we can help?" She pleaded with the poor girl.

"Well, this isn't the first time I've been thrashed lately. Yesterday I was beaten by a guy who tried to take off with my Victreebel. He didn't manage to steal anything, obviously. But he _did_ manage to annihilate all of my Pokémon. Then he took off as quickly as he came." She explained.

"What kind of Pokémon was he using?" Ash asked, quickly getting excited again.

"It was a Shellder. I should have been able to beat it easily. But there was something wrong with it...it almost looked evil. It took down my poor Victreebel with one water gun. My other Pokémon didn't do much better. They'd just gotten better this morning, and then you come along and destroy me." She said, looking at Ash. "Not that it's your fault or anything, it's just a bit crappy to be beaten that badly twice in a row. I finished in the top 16 in the Indigo League last year, so I'm not all that bad."

"And this guy beat you with one Shellder?" Brock enquired.

"Yep. With ease. I don't think he was quite as good as you, Ash. But that was one strong Shellder."

Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu were lost in thought, leaving Sarah wondering what they were hiding.

"What's wrong? Is it something I said?"

"Well, lately there's been sightings of Shadow Pokémon around this area. But they're different to the ones that have been around in the past. These ones are stronger, and can use their own attacks." Brock explained.

"Really? That would explain a lot." Sarah said, thinking to herself. "You know, I saw the guy run off towards Mt Moon. Maybe there's something there?" She played with her fingers, clearly getting nervous about the topic.

"We'll have to check it out, then. Thanks for the information." Ash said.

"Wait! You're not actually going _looking_ for them, are you? That's so dangerous!" Sarah said, totally shocked.

"We can't really say much about that, but yeah. That's what we're doing." Misty replied.

"Well, I think you're going to need all the luck you can get. You're strong, Ash. But there might be hundreds of those things in there. I'm heading back to Viridian, double-time. If there really is Shadow Pokémon around, I'm not safe in these parts." She turned to leave, suddenly stopping and turning back around.

"Before I go, can I ask a huge favour?" she asked Ash.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can I get a photo with you guys? And an autograph? Please!!"

Ash just smiled. "Sure!"

The 4 of them and Pikachu all posed for the camera, and Ash signed an empty pokéball for her.

"Thanks, Ash. And you too, Misty. And Brock." She winked at Brock, and walked off down the road.

"Bye Sarah!" Ash yelled. "I'll see you at the Pokémon League!"

Sarah turned around and waved back, before disappearing over the horizon.

Brock was sitting on the path, looking miserable.

"What's up with you, man?" Ash asked.

Brock paused before looking up at Ash.

"So what was it like, when she jumped on you like that? Hmm?! She's a very cute girl, you're a lucky guy, Ash. And what a body! Must have felt pretty good, huh? I wish _I_ had pretty girls jumping all over me!" He rambled.

"Uh, Brock...I think you should stop talking now..." Ash suggested, watching Misty's shoulders heave up and down with heavy, angry breaths; her face returning to the angry red that meant 'get out of here fast'.

"No way! I wanna know, Ash. You gotta tell me, man to man. She was just about the prettiest girl _I_ ever saw!"

"Brock..." Ash warned, stepping sideways to clear the way for Misty.

Misty took three heavy steps towards Brock, hands outstretched towards Brock's neck.

"Yaaa!! She might have been pretty, but she's got nothing on Misty, that's for sure!" Brock was scared out of his mind, stepping backwards and holding his hands up in a defensive position.

"Yep, you're a lucky guy Ash. Misty's a hell of a girl, sure wish I was you! How stupid was that Sarah girl anyway, thinking she can jump on you like that! You're so Misty's it's ridiculous!"

"On the edge, Brock. You're on the edge." Misty's face was bright red, but at least she'd stopped advancing on Brock. "I do NOT need you REMINDING me about silly girls with their hands all over Ash. I've waited _far_ too long for this."

"O-o-of course you have." Brock stammered. "And you deserve better than me mentioning silly girls like that. I'm so very sorry, Misty. Please forgive me." Brock was on his knees now, praying to whoever or whatever would listen to _please make Misty not hurt me too badly_.

Ash came up behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, his hands on the opposite sides of her hips. He leaned in and kissed her neck gently, and suddenly Misty transformed back into the sweet, loving Misty he'd just gotten used to over the past day.

_That was WAY too close._ Brock thought to himself, and took off down the road at a very brisk walk, not worried about whether the others were far behind or not. He was just happy to be safe.

They walked for two more hours, until the sun began to set. The finally saw the new hotel in front of the mountain, and made a mad dash for it. Misty couldn't wait to have a nice hot shower after watching the sunset from a balcony, sipping an iced tea.

_And I can't wait to be alone with Ash_. She thought, smiling to herself as she approached the front door to the hotel.

Ash wasn't thinking along quite the same lines.

_I can't believe how easy it was to stop Misty. If I'd known that, I would have tried it years ago._

He'd always been terrified of Misty, just like Brock, whenever she got angry. He just instinctively grabbed her around the waist, not really knowing why, and she stopped being angry like it had never happened in the first place.  
_And it felt pretty good, too._ Ash grinned at the thought of perhaps doing that again later in the evening.

_Pikachu is going to sleep in Brock's room tonight._

Author's Note: I hope that wasn't too much, heh. I really just couldn't help myself. Gotta justify the M Rating somehow, though.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Deepest Blues Are Black**

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Satoshi Tajiri does. I'm just writing a story.

Author's Note: Sorry this was so long in coming, I've been spending a lot of time writing my other fanfic Remnants.

**Chapter 4**

Misty and Ash came out of their room bright and early, around eight AM. They were already showered and dressed, and wore big grins on their faces. They made their way down to the hotel's restaurant, where Brock and Pikachu were waiting for them at a table.

"You two certainly looked pleased. I wonder what _you_ got up to last night." Brock said with a sly grin.

"That's none of your business, Brock." Misty said, trying to sound angry but not quite pulling it off.

"I ordered you guys your favourites, hopefully they're _still_ your favourites after all these years."

They sat down, a waiter bringing them their food almost immediately.

"Wow! Great service!" Ash cried happily.

Ash's eyes lit up when he saw what the waiter had brought him. A massive cheeseburger, perfectly proportioned, with just the right amount of mustard and ketchup. He began to drip saliva from the corners of his mouth, so Pikachu quickly took Ash's napkin and tucked it into his shirt, where it caught each drop. Misty shook her head in disgust, then quietly and with dignity tucked into her Eggs Benedict. After the first bite her eyes narrowed as she contemplated the taste. Brock waited eagerly for the response.

"This might be the best eggs I've ever had!" She yelled, a big smile on her face.

Brock grinned triumphantly.

"What are you so happy about? You didn't make these, the restaurant chefs did." Ash said, a little puzzled.

"Actually," Brock grinned lopsidedly, "I did make these. I asked the chefs if I could use their kitchen, and they said it was fine as long as I made two of everything so they could have some."

"That makes a lot of sense, actually." Ash said, enjoying his huge cheeseburger.

_More like a cheese-mountain burger_, Ash thought greedily.

Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching them. Misty turned around to see two chefs standing next to Brock.

"That was the best Cheeseburger and Eggs Benedict we've ever had! You simply _must _give us your recipe!"

Brock smiled, arms folded in triumph. Ash swore he saw a split-second glint in his toothy grin.

"I'd be happy to."

They all finished their meals, and returned to their rooms to collect their gear before heading into Mt Moon. Brock and Pikachu entered their room, Brock patting his belly and letting out a satisfied burp. Misty scrunched her face in disgust.

"And he wonders why he's still single." She muttered.

Ash shifted his gaze guiltily, suppressing his own burp.

They entered their own room, and Ash sat on the bed, watching Misty as she packed up her bag. He couldn't help but admire everything little thing about her; the way she knelt down to put things away, the way she brushed her hair out of her eyes, the way she adjusted her top self-consciously. He smiled as he thought about how he'd never noticed these things years ago. Misty turned around, noticing that he wasn't packing.

"What are you doing?" She asked, a little bit of anger creeping into her tone.

Ash just smiled wider.

"I was just admiring you."

Misty smiled and walked over to him, climbing onto the bed. She straddled him, sitting on his belly, and cupped his face in her hands. Ash got a little hot under the collar as Misty leaned down with awesome flexibility and kissed him.

"Come on, there'll be time for this later." She winked, and got off the bed to finish packing.

Ash sat up, a little disappointed, but looking forward to this 'later' she spoke of. He walked over to his bag and started mashing his gear into it, done in a matter of seconds. He picked up his belt of pokéballs and quickly put it on.

"Ready to go?" Ash asked.

"Just give me a sec." Misty said, looking for her own pokéball belt.

Ash grinned cheekily, holding it up and dangling it. Misty frowned.

"Give me that." She said, snatching it away from him and putting it on.

Ash strolled up behind her as she was adjusting it, grabbing two handfuls of Misty's barely-covered ass. She squealed in surprise, jumping a little.

"Ash! Stop being so cheeky!" She giggled. "We can do that later..."

Misty grabbed Ash's hands and removed them from her bum, sliding them up to her waist. She tilted her head to the left, inviting Ash to kiss it. He did, and she let out a girlish giggle.

"Come on, Ash! We can't do this all day, we have to get going. Brock and Pikachu are waiting for us."

She spoke the words, but wasn't sure she quite wanted to believe them. Ash looked a bit disappointed, disconnecting himself from her and walking towards the door, taking her hand. Misty gave it a squeeze, then stopped walking just as they reached the door. She looked up at him, and looked right into his eyes. Ash was almost instantly hypnotised by her beautiful gaze.

"Ash, I just wanted to say..." She trailed off, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I'm glad we're on this journey. And I'm glad that..._we_ finally happened. I've never been this happy before. I don't know if I even know the words to tell you how I feel."

Ash just kissed her again; a long, soft kiss that seemed to last an eternity.

"That's what I was going to say." Misty smiled sweetly, her face a light shade of red.

They were interrupted rudely by Brock pounding on the door.

"Come on, you two! We've been out here waiting forever!" Brock complained.

"Pika!" Pikachu grunted.

Ash and Misty looked at each other, smiling guiltily. They opened the door, and Brock saw they were holding hands, fingers firmly interlaced.

"Spare me." He said. "Let's get going."

Pikachu glared at Ash, then jumped on Brock's shoulder.

"Aw, come on buddy! You understand, right?"

"Pika. Chu." Pikachu shrugged, then turned back around.

----------------------------------------

The four travellers exited the hotel, Ash paying the bills for everyone. Brock and Misty thanked him, Ash insisting that it was nothing. They made their way to the entrance to Mt Moon, noting how little it seemed to have changed since the last time they'd been here.

"Something's wrong here." Brock noted.

"I don't see anything." Ash said blankly.

"That's what I mean. It seems way too quiet. Last time we were here, we were attacked by all those Zubat." Brock reached for his belt, producing a pokéball. "Go, Crobat!"

The Crobat emerged, flapping wildly.

"Crobat, fly on ahead of us. If you notice anything strange, come back and let us know." Brock commanded.

Crobat did as it was told, flying on ahead of the others, disappearing into the darkness.

"All the lights are gone. Last time we were here, the whole place was decked out." Ash noted.

"Good. The Pokémon that live here don't appreciate light. That's why they're in a cave." Brock said, suspicion rising quickly to the forefront of his mind.

They walked quickly, following the walls of the cave until they heard a roar coming from up ahead. The roar sounded desperate, like a big Pokémon being hurt. Suddenly Crobat returned, and screeched something that Ash and Misty didn't understand.

"Let's go, I think something's in trouble up there." Brock said.

They ran off after Crobat, the darkness of the tunnel giving way to pale light as they neared a large open area of the cave with a small hole in the roof. When they reached the large open area, they stopped cold.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Can't you see we're busy?" said a woman in a tight black uniform.

Ash looked up, trying to fathom what he saw before him. It was an Onix and a Graveler, both tied up and struggling while several others all dressed in black uniforms were attempting to do something to them.

"What are you doing to these Pokémon?" Misty yelled.

"That's none of your business. Now leave quietly, or I'll be forced to take you out. Don't make me enjoy hurting you." The woman's face contorted into an evil-looking grin.

"No way. I'm not going to let you do anything to hurt these Pokémon." Ash said angrily, holding a pokéball.

"They won't be hurt, not for long anyway. But I can see you aren't going to leave. So I'll just have to hurt you until you change your mind." The woman said. "Go, Venusaur! Crush these pests!"

A huge Venusaur came out, at least a quarter again the size of a regular one. Misty took a step back in fear. Ash and Brock just stood there defiantly. Brock went to make a move, but Ash stopped him.

"No way, Brock. This Venusaur would take all your Pokémon out without any trouble. I don't want you to get hurt. This is _my_ fight now."

"Got it. I'll take care of the rest of them then." Brock ran off, taking Misty with him, and approached the other group of uniformed people.

"Charizard, this one's yours!" Ash yelled, throwing Charizard's pokéball.

It hit the ground and opened, releasing Charizard and returning to Ash's hand. Pikachu stood next to Ash's feet, watching intently, studying the Venusaur in case he had to fight as well.

"Venusaur, Solarbeam!" the woman yelled.

Ash smiled. There was no way the Venusaur could gather enough light to make a Solarbeam in the time it would take for Charizard to take it out.

"Charizard, Fire Blast!" Ash commanded confidently.

Charizard roared, tilting its entire body backwards before thrusting forwards, letting loose a huge blast of fire at least as big as itself. The blast hit the Venusaur head on as it was still trying to gather enough light. Clearly, whoever this woman was, she didn't have a great deal of battling knowledge.

The flames cleared, leaving the Venusaur completely charred. But it didn't stop gathering light, it simply roared angrily and leaped into the air, aiming its huge flower right at Ash.

"What?! That blast could've melted a concrete wall!" Ash exclaimed.

The solarbeam shot out lightning-fast straight at Ash. He just stood there, totally stunned, not comprehending what was happening. Charizard roared, taking flight. He flew in and swooped, picking up Ash and Pikachu and dropping them several feet away, escaping the blast.

"Charizard, are you alright?" Ash asked as Charizard landed nearby.

Charizard nodded, letting out a small roar of 'affirmative'.

"Okay then. Let's try this again! Try a flamethrower! But focus it as small as you can, right at the Venusaur's head."

"Ha! You already tried that, and it didn't work. Now surrender. Don't make me hurt you again, kid." The woman leant on one leg, her arms folded across her ample chest, her expression hidden behind big dark sunglasses.

"Maybe you should take off your sunglasses, 'cause I'm no kid. Do it, Charizard!" Ash yelled.

Charizard roared, oozing power and confidence. He closed his jaw until only a small gap was visible, and shot out a brilliant beam of fire, only a few centimetres wide. It shot out and struck the Venusaur right between the eyes before it even had a chance to register the attack. The Venusaur screamed and pawed desperately at its face before fainting.

"I don't believe it...who _are_ you, anyway?" the woman cried, her jaw dropped and arms slack by her sides.

--------------------------------------------

"Let them go. Right now. I'm not going to tell you again." Brock commanded, pointing to the Onix and Graveler.

"And what makes you think we're going to listen to you? Who do you think you are, anyway?" One of the uniformed people asked, a look of disdain on his face.

"Well, this here is Misty, the leader of the Cerulean City Gym, and I'm the leader of the Pewter City Gym. So you'll be letting them go now, or I'm going to have to show you how we got our positions."

The man smirked.

"You obviously have no idea who you're dealing with. Take my advice: run. Get out of here while you can, and take your pretty little friend with you."

"No more talk! Let them go right now! Starmie, go!" Misty said angrily.

Starmie appeared in a flash of red, its core glowing brightly.

"Starmie, rapidspin! Free Graveler and Onix!"

Starmie launched itself at the two imprisoned Pokémon, spinning extremely fast and picking up speed. It sailed past them, cutting the ropes holding them like a knife through butter.

"Great work!" Misty called happily. "You two, get out of here as fast as you can!" She said to Graveler and Onix.

The man who'd done all the talking so far had turned red with rage, and threw a pokéball in Misty's direction. A Shellder appeared, and it looked furious.

"That's gotta be the same Shellder that Sarah fought." Brock said. "Crobat, Supersonic!"

Crobat let out an inaudible scream. The Shellder looked shocked, quickly becoming disoriented.

"Right. Now use Wing Attack!"

Crobat swooped down at the Shellder with incredible speed, its wing beginning to glow as it picked up speed.

"Shellder, ice beam!" the man yelled.

Shellder immediately snapped out of its confusion and launched a thick ice beam straight at Crobat, which knocked it out of the air instantly. Crobat wasn't frozen, but it was very badly hurt.

"Good idea." Misty said to herself. "Starmie, use ice beam on all those other uniformed guys. Don't stop till they're all frozen solid from the neck down!" She commanded, and Starmie obeyed.

"What are you _doing_? Stop that right now!" the uniformed man yelled, charging over towards Misty.

"Crobat, return! Go Forretress! Rollout!"

Forretress began spinning on the spot, then touched down, taking off at an incredible speed straight at the Shellder. It struck, sending the Shellder flying dozens of metres away straight into the cave wall. It hit the wall with a loud _crack_ and fell to the floor, out cold.

Meanwhile, Starmie had frozen all the other uniformed people.

"That ought to hold them for a while, at least until we can tie them up." Misty said, dusting her hands off.

"Let's go see how Ash is doing with that Venusaur." Brock said, and the two of them took off towards the main battle.

"I don't believe it...who _are_ you, anyway?" the woman in the tight black uniform cried, her jaw dropped and arms slack by her sides.

She was clearly the leader of this group. If the guy with the Shellder had been extraordinarily strong, then this woman had to be stronger. And that meant that either Misty, Brock and Ash were really tough, or that Sarah was nowhere near as strong as she was making out.

"First you tell me who _you _are." Ash demanded. "And who you're working for, and what you're doing here."

"I can't tell you that...you understand, right? They'll kill me if I tell anybody, even though I want to." She looked genuinely frightened and apologetic.

"I don't believe you. You had the choice not to get involved, and you did. If you wanted to tell us anything, you would have by now." Ash said angrily.

The woman walked over, head down and body slumped in defeat.

"How about I make it worth your while..." she trailed off, looking up at Ash seductively, her finger tracing its way down his chest lightly. She put her other hand behind Ash's back and drew herself in, her large boobs touching his chest while her other hand stroked his face. Misty's face turned purple and her hands formed into tight fists.

"If you promise to let us go, and not tell anyone about this, I promise I'll do _anything_ you want in exchange..." she trailed off again, her hand drawing Ash's head down in order to try and kiss him.

Ash broke off, wiping his face in disgust.

"Get _away_ from me. How dumb do you think I am?" He yelled.

"You don't _know_ what you're getting yourself into, kid." The woman spat angrily.

Misty stomped her way up to her, her shoulders rising and falling and her face an unhealthy shade.

"What do _you_ want, princess? Your shorts too tight or something?" The woman looked Misty up and down, sniggering.

Misty half-turned, rearing back her right fist. She spun back around, landing a powerful hook punch straight into woman's face. She cried in pain and stumbled backwards.

"Dammit, you little bitch. Now you're getting on my nerves." The woman seethed.

"Don't _ever_ touch my boyfriend again. First you threaten us, then you try and seduce him, and now you're threatening _me_. I've had it!" Misty yelled.

She walked over to the woman, holding the rope Starmie had cut from Graveler and Onix. She tied it tightly around the woman's wrists and ankles.

"OW! What do you think you're doing? This HURTS!" she complained.

"Making sure you don't get your dirty, slutty fingers on Ash or anyone else ever again. You can wait here with your little friends for the police." Misty said, feeling better every time she heard the woman groaning in pain from Misty's vicious binding.

"Alright, Misty!" Ash cheered. "Way to stick it to her!"

"Thankyou." Misty said, walking over to Ash. She turned to face the woman again. "Now don't go anywhere, will you?"

"Ha ha ha." She grunted sarcastically.

"Pikachu, stay here and make sure none of them move. We'll be back with the police in a little while." Ash said.

"Chu!" Pikachu said excitedly. He waddled off to the woman, standing in front of her face.

"Chuuu!" Pikachu looked wild with excitement, electricity sparking madly from his cheeks.

The woman winced in fear as Pikachu waited for an opportunity to shock her.

------------------------------------------

As Misty, Brock and Ash reached the exit to the caves, Graveler appeared.

"Hey, Graveler. What's up?" Brock asked.

Graveler grunted a few times, an ecstatic look on its face. It moved forward and embraced Brock, who didn't seem to notice that Graveler was a rock Pokémon and being hugged by it would cause most people to be in pain.

"It's no problem, bud. I'm glad to have helped." Brock laughed.

"Maybe you'd like to come along with us." Ash suggested.

Graveler jumped up and down excitedly, shaking the ground beneath it.

"HA! I guess that means, yes, right?" Brock smiled.

The Graveler reached into Brock's belt and pulled out a pokéball. It threw the ball into the air and it landed on its head, absorbing it into the ball in a brilliant flash of red.

"Well, that was easy." Brock said, surprised at Graveler's intelligence.

Ash pulled out his PDA and pressed a few buttons on it.

"I'm gonna call Gary and tell him what we saw. You guys should call Officer Jenny in Pewter." He said.

"Right." Misty said, producing her own PDA.

"Gary Oak here. Oh, hey Ash. What's happening?" Gary's face appeared on the screen.

"We just ran into some trouble here in Mt Moon. A bunch of people dressed in black uniforms."

"Black, huh? Bad guys nearly always dress in black." Gary nodded.

"They used a Shellder and a Venusaur, both extremely strong. We're gonna try and send them to you so you and the Professor can examine them."

"Okay, sounds good. Are they gonna be alright? I don't want them to destroy everything." Gary asked, looking a little worried.

"It'll be fine, just use stun spore on them."

"Hmph. Easier said than done. But okay, I guess that would work." Gary admitted, "Fine, you send them over to me and I'll let you know what I find out. Have fun, Ash."

"Later, Gary!" Ash said, and pushed the Disconnect button.

"Officer Jenny will be here in a few minutes, and she's bringing a police van and some reinforcements." Brock reported.

"Awesome. We're gonna have to send Shellder and Venusaur to Gary so he can take a look at them. Maybe find out exactly what they're doing to them to make them so strong." Ash said.

"Sounds good to me. Let's head back in there and get those Pokémon back in their balls then." Brock said, leading the way back into the caves.

A few minutes later Officer Jenny arrived with a full police escort, and promptly loaded the uniformed people into the van.

"We'll get these guys back to the station and start interrogation immediately. We'll take care of sending those shadow Pokémon over to Professor Oak's lab, too." Jenny said.

"Thanks, Officer Jenny." Ash said with smile.

"And good work in there, all of you. Hopefully this'll give us some answers. We'll keep your names out of our 'official' report, and the press conference. Nobody will know you were even there."

"Thanks, officer. We'd appreciate that." Misty said.

"We have to get moving, but good luck on your journey. Hopefully we'll see you again before too long." Jenny saluted them, then sped off on her motorbike, the police van in tow.

"It's a shame." Brock said.  
"I know what you mean...all those people doing such crazy things. They could do so much good." Misty said contemplatively.

"No, it's a shame about that woman." Brock said, a serious look on his face.

"What about her?" Misty asked, totally confused.

"She was a good looking girl! It's such a shame she turned out to be with the bad guys. That uniform...it looked great on her! Nice and tight in all the right places-OW!"

Misty had slapped him right across the face.

"Don't you _ever_ keep your libido in check?" She complained. "She _was_ with the bad guys, and she's been arrested. That's all there is to it! There's a lot of girls out there who'd love to be with a nice guy like you, _IF_ you stop being such a pathetic, perverted little boy!"

Brock's expression sobered. Misty was like the ultimate authority figure when she got like that, and all Brock could do was nod and agree.

"Now, let's get _going!_ It's lunch time and I'm hungry."

Brock looked to Ash with a 'what did I do wrong?' expression on his face. Ash just shrugged with an apologetic look, and walked off after Misty.

"Ash is never like that, maybe you can take a page out of his book." Misty said, reaching for Ash's hand and smiling at him with that gorgeous, innocent face of hers.

They kept walking for about an hour afterwards until they found a nice enough spot to set down and prepare some food.

"Alright! Time for Brock to shine!" Brock said confidently, a pan in his hand.

They left him alone to prepare lunch, and Pikachu stayed behind with him to give him a hand. Ash and Misty walked off holding hands, dawdling down the banks of the Cerulean River.

"This is perfect. I wish we could do this forever." She said, breathing in a big breath of clean, country air.

"Yeah." Ash smiled, realising this was another thing he appreciated that he'd never noticed before.

Suddenly, Misty jumped into the air, landing on Ash's back.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Misty just whimpered, hiding behind his back. She was scared out of her mind at _something_, but Ash couldn't see anything.

"_Do_ something!" She cried in her most pathetic voice.

"But there's nothing there!" Ash pointed around at the grass on the river bank. "See?"

Misty just continued to whimper and sulk, grabbing hold of Ash's shoulders roughly and pushing him down to his knees.

"Misty, what are you doing?"

Ash was now on his knees, Misty cowering behind him, her hands gripping Ash's shoulder so hard that it hurt.

Then a green flash came out of nowhere, charging right at them. Ash let out a surprised cry and pulled them both onto their sides, escaping whatever it was. Misty screamed and jumped onto Ash's shoulders, her knees astride his neck.

"Get it away from me! Ash!" She squealed.

"I'd love to, but you're hurting me!"

Misty was so scared she didn't realise that she was sitting on Ash and squeezing him. Ash saw what was troubling her, though. Relieved, he lowered himself to the ground and got her off of him.

"Misty, please. There'll be time for that later." He grinned cheekily at her.

"ASH! This is no time for jokes! You have to _do_ something!"

Ash threw a pokéball, and out came Squirtle.

"Squirtle, can you please scare that off for Misty?"

Squirtle nodded and went over to talk to the little Caterpie. Squirtle said a few words to it, occasionally pointing at Misty, who was still terrified and hiding behind Ash. After a little while, the Caterpie crawled off and Squirtle returned.

"Squirtle." He said with a nod.

"See? There was nothing to worry about. Caterpie was just wandering around. It was never going to hurt you." Ash explained.

Misty whacked him on the head, and Ash cried out in surprise.

"You know I hate bugs!" She squealed.

Ash rubbed his head, then saw her poor, frightened features. He felt sorry for her. In the past, he would have just laughed at her, but now all he wanted to do was hug her and make her feel better. He put one hand on her lower back and one on the back of her neck and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear.

"It's okay...but let's get back to Brock now."

Misty, Ash and Squirtle returned to where Brock and Pikachu were making lunch, and were surprised to see someone they hadn't seen in a _very_ long time. One of Ash's oldest friends; a trainer as good as he was.

"I don't believe it!" Ash cried happily.


End file.
